Tuesday 22 October 2013

Creativity : Motivation

Motivation is the feeling that causes us to perform actions. Hunger motivates us to eat, boredom motivates us to play and loneliness motivates us to make friends. Without motivation of some sort, we wouldn't accomplish much.



Motivation can be described as either direct or indirect. Direct motivation is like hunger. The action that you perform (eating) directly satisfies the need (hunger). Indirect motivation is a little more complicated because there is something in between the action and the fulfilled need. For example, money may be an indirect motivation to work hard. Money by itself is useless unless you spend it on something, like your rent or mortgage. Having a place to live is the motivation to work hard and money sits in the middle as an indirect motivator.



Motivation can also be described in terms of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is something that you do for no other reason than your own enjoyment. Reading a book or having a hobby are good examples. Extrinsic motivation uses rewards, such as money, to encourage you to do something that you may not want to do on your own. A combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be a powerful force. If you enjoy what you are doing and get rewarded for it, you are certainly going to keep doing it!



Intrinsic motivation and creativity are closely interrelated. If you don't enjoy what you are doing, your mind will not be in the right state to think creatively. Finding ways to turn dull tasks into interesting activities is an important skill to learn if you want to be creative in everything that you do. Our Mentalrobics activities can help you learn how to do this.

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